Xinhua: China Expects Huntsman to Play ‘Positive’ Role

Huntsman, 49, son of a Utah multimillionaire and philanthropist, served as a White House staff assistant to President Reagan, ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush and deputy trade representative under President George W. Bush.

The governor has strong ties to Asia: He lived as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan. He and his wife, Mary Kaye, adopted two daughters, one from China and one from India. He also supports Utah’s legislative push to offer Chinese language courses in school, which would be the first of its kind in the US.

But that does not mean thorny issues would be ignored.

Tao Wenzhao, an expert on Sino-US relations at the American Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that China must be vigilant, as the US is a collection of various interest groups, which means the arms sellers will continue to sell weapons to Taiwan and its defense department won’t stop spreading the “China Threat Theory”.

“That’s why we can’t be optimistic, though there will be a new ambassador with closer connections to China,” he said.